Churros mexicanos

Hey errybody.

These old VW bugs are absolutely everywhere. And I love it.

Shew, I am pooped - thus the lack of posting anoche. So yesterday was good. It was pretty chill. We started off the day with the Comite de Medio Ambiente (Environmental Program), which was cool. We got all up in the business of compost and recycling and plant-growing at the Casa. I felt like plant-watering as part of my daily routine would be a good thing to feed my spirit, so I think I'm going to work with them. It's worked out well, because each of the three of us are interested in something different - Linet for Migration and Molly for Justicia Economica. Later we each had check-ins with Hayley, which I felt really great about. She's really good at asking us if we need anything, in a way that feels like she means my needs, not just needs. I totally aime her. No big deal.

New friends.

The señoras who are on the hospitality staff cooked a huge meal for everyone, to celebrate two birthdays, our bienvenidas, and a despedida for Jill (who's been a co-director here for... like a year? two years?). Desafortunadamente, Linet didn't feel so well, so we missed her on our recorrido with Jim. Molly and I went to Coyacán, a neighborhood that used to be really its own city until the Monstruo that is Mexico City sort of swallowed it up. It was really pretty, reminded me of Granada in some ways. It's more middle class and upper-middle class, whereas our neighborhood is lower-middle and working class, so it's cleaner and calmer and generally prettier. I felt sort of weird about liking it a little better than our neighborhood - I want to be the person who identifies with a culture that's really different from my own or something. But I've been realizing that there is just as much consumerism and stuff here as in America, so I don't know.

Mah first Mexican beer. Super delish.

Anyway Coyacán was great. Just relaxing and beautiful and I would totally live there someday. Jim said he lived there for a year or something when he was younger, and when we all win the lottery we're going to buy brightly colored houses there. That was one of my favorite parts - it still definitely felt urban, like there weren't separate houses but all long connected buildings, but the sidewalks are wide and there's trees and tropical-looking flowers and just lots of color. Hurray. We went to the Frida Kahlo Museum slash it used to be her and Diego Rivera's HOUSE which is super gorgeous. It's all just the best bright blue ever on the outside, and really great stuff on the inside, and obvious cool art and stuffff. Great central courtyard thing too, lots of plants. Love it love it. Next we went to some big plazas, and a market where we got some delicious aguas (which are really all kinds of fruit juices that are DELICIOUS... just realized I already said that. so okay: double delicious). We also got Mexican churros, which are yeah, different from Spanish ones, but equally yummy and terrible for you.

Then we just paseo-d it up, wandering all around through other plazas and markets, and stopped for a drink for a while and watched people go by and some guys played old Spanish love songs on some pretty guitarras. People were kind of dressed up. Unlike a lot of the people I've seen in the Centro, I felt like most of the people I saw in Coyacán looked pretty American. Like, I wouldn't notice them as different-looking if I saw them in the street. I guess they were generally taller and lighter-skinned than the populace closer to the Casa, which I guess makes sense if the neighborhoods divide by class. Hm...

I need these. In a big way.

After a little while and some good conversation we started the trek back to the metro, which only differs from other metros I've been on in its super super crowdedness. However, I remain, for the most part, unintimidated. So it was a great day. Molly and I came to check on Linet, then went back out to buy some din dins, came back and ate, then started to head to bed. Linet and I accidentally stayed up talking for a while, and it was really just great. We've gotten along really well from the beginning, and it's just super fun to joke around, but this was also just a really good conversation. I'm feelin the love.

So today we're all pretty exhausted, but we went with Jim to a really awesome art market thing that happens on sábados, I guess they call it a bazaar. There was lots of really exciting brightly colored stuff, and my new life plan is now to forget about social justice work, and just focus on getting really rich so I can buy all the big bright arty art things. Nom. Molly is meeting with her internship person now, and I think Linet and I are going to go out to lunch with Jim pretty soon. Tonight, a gathering at Nico and Jill's piso, and tomorrow, PYRAMIDS. I. Am. So. Excited. And, you know, completely exhausted.

Love,
me